Noise barrier walls are becoming more and more common along side super-highways, freeways, airports and other sources of loud noises to reduce the noise level in adjacent residential areas. A well-known type of wall construction is the post and panel type wherein spaced apart posts or columns are formed with grooves to hold intermediate flat concrete panels in place between adjacent posts or columns. Such a construction is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,605,090 and 4,862,992. Other noise barrier walls have been formed from wooden posts and panels in a somewhat similar fashion, and still further examples can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4, 558,850 which discloses a serpentine series of panels interconnected together to form the noise barrier.
The present invention provides for a concrete post assembly and method of mounting same on an in-ground pier that is particularly adapted for use in noise barrier walls as well as in other types of wall construction. The post assembly of the present invention is constructed so as to be supported in an upright position on an in-ground concrete pier having its upper surface located a short distance below ground level and having embedded therein a plurality of anchor bolts for securing the precast concrete post assembly thereto. Mounting means are cast into the post itself to permit fastening of nailing strips to opposed faces of the vertical post so that wooden panel members can be secured thereto.